Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn last night urged Remain-supporting MPs to help him topple Boris Johnson and install him as a “caretaker” prime minister to stop a no-deal Brexit.
The leader of the Opposition wrote to parliamentary colleagues on Wednesday night, stating that he intends to table a vote of no confidence in Boris Johnson’s government “at the earliest opportunity when we can be confident of success” — and, if he gained the support of the Remainer-dominated House of Commons, he would delay Brexit.
“Following a successful vote of no confidence in the Government, I would then, as Leader of the Opposition, seek the confidence of the house for a strictly time-limited temporary Government with the aim of calling a General Election, and ensuring the necessary extension of article 50 to do so,” wrote the 70-year-old leftist.
“In that General Election, Labour will be committed to a public vote on the terms of leaving the European Union, including an option to Remain.”
I've written to the leaders of other political parties and senior backbenchers from across Parliament to lay out my plan to stop a disastrous No Deal Brexit and let the people decide the future of our country. pic.twitter.com/Jz1MjXCrqk
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) August 14, 2019
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pledged to take the United Kingdom out of the EU on October 31st, with or without a deal, and has ramped up preparations for a clean exit on that date.
Mr Corbyn is certain to face opposition from some Conservatives in government and Brexiteers, but some Remainers have also signalled that they are less than impressed with his offer to become interim prime minister, sidelining Tory Remainers and the pro-EU Liberal Democrats.
Newly-elected Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson said in comments reported by The Guardian: “Jeremy Corbyn is not the person who is going to be able to build an even temporary majority in the House of Commons for this task – I would expect there are people in his own party and indeed the necessary Conservative backbenchers who would be unwilling to support him. It is a nonsense.”
Boris Accuses Remainer MPs of ‘Collaborating’ with EU to Stop Brexit https://t.co/E9L0AB4pcy
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) August 15, 2019
Senior Green MP Caroline Lucas has argued that “holding a general election before a people’s vote [second referendum] is the wrong way around”, but Mr Corbyn did find some support with Scotland’s left-separatist Scottish National Party (SNP) and Wales’s left-separatist Plaid Cymru, which would be willing to enter talks with him.
A spokesman for Number 10 — the prime minister’s address on Downing Street — said of the letter that it presented “a clear choice: either Jeremy Corbyn as prime minister who will overrule the referendum and wreck the economy, or Boris Johnson as prime minister who will respect the referendum and deliver more money for the NHS and more police on our streets”.
He added: ‘This government believes the people are the masters and votes should be respected, Jeremy Corbyn believes that the people are the servants and politicians can cancel public votes they don’t like.”
The strong rebuttal from Downing Street came after Prime Minister Johnson said during a “People’s PMQs [Prime Minister’s Questions]” on Wednesday that there was a “collaboration” going on between MPs “who think they can block Brexit in Parliament and our European friends”.
Bercow to ‘Fight with Every Breath’ to Stop Boris Suspending Parliament to Deliver Brexit https://t.co/FcACvMaWQH
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) August 14, 2019
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